Punishment
by undefined
Summary: Ron drifts towards evil, Harry drifts towards oblivion, and Draco is deep in confusion. Two of those will be involved, rather graphically, in later chapters.


Title: Punishment: chapter 1  
Author: undefined  
Disclaimer: no characters here belong to me. I'm stealing them, bua ha ha.  
Comments: One last warning, if you dislike slash, don't read on. If you flame me for it...well...I'm always looking for a good laugh.   
And I'd just like to say, writing het is so much easier, because in scenes with the two lovers you can say 'he' and 'she' whereas in slash, you have to say their names, and it gets repetitive...I really wanted to say that. 

~*~*~ 

"Off to potions," Ron groaned. He and his two best friends stepped into the dreaded dungeon. The time crawled at the pace of a slug as the students worked on their Cleansing Potions. Ron's eyes were drooping as he poured dragon blood. Harry rested his chin on his hand and put in his last ingredient. Hermione was probably the only fully attentive person in the class. 

As Ron started falling deeper and deeper into the spells of the sandman his container of blood landed on the floor with a clatter. Ron jerked to a state of complete wakefulness and hurried to clean it up, he hoped Snape hadn't heard. Unfortunately, this was not the case. The professor sped to the scene of the crime trying to cover his look of pleasure at the thought of doling out punishment. 

His famous sneer became more sneer-like. "Detention Weasley. Tonight, at eight, clean out dungeon number two. That should last you a while." 

Ron fumed and knelt to clean up the mess he had made, thinking of how much more mess he'd have to clean later. Draco Malfoy sauntered over and threw a rag on Ron's head. "Here," he said with a grin, "I'm sure you'll find plenty of use for it." 

The steam coming from Ron's ears was almost visible. Doubly insulted, he wiped the bloody floor. 

On their way to Transfiguration Ron was not to be comforted. "You'd think he'd have grown some sense by seventh year! But he's still as immature and stupid as ever! Snape still loves him though, they'd make such a great couple." 

Hermione rolled her eyes, "Yeah, maybe without the age difference. Snape's only three times his age." 

"So what," muttered Ron, "I'm sure there's a pedophile in him somewhere." 

"Speak of the devil," Harry murmured. 

Draco waltzed up to them. "So, you're a maid now. Ask for payment and you'll earn more in a week than your family has in the past fifty years." 

Ron took a deep breath, "I'm above this. Take a walk, Malfoy." 

The blonde boy looked shocked at the lack of response. He stuck his nose in the air and walked away with an odd look in his eyes. Hermione was visibly impressed. "Ron, you did it!" She looked like she was about to hug him. Harry grinned. 

The trio was a few meters from the Transfiguration classroom when Crabbe and Goyle came at them. Ron looked around for Draco and saw him was a rather frightened expression on his face. He backed against the wall, even his pride didn't push him enough to rush into a battle against two guys like his attackers. Hermione showed no hesitation. She took out her wand and muttered some words that stopped the boys in their tracks. 

Just then Professor McGonagall rushed out and surveyed the scene. What she saw was Harry and Ron backed up against a wall, Crabbe and Goyle frozen in shameful positions with Hermione holding her wand up at them, and Draco Malfoy. She came to the obvious conclusion. She turned on him, "Mr. Malfoy, causing trouble in the hallways is the last thing this school needs. Detention for you!" 

He was about to protest, but the professor continued before he could, "I recall the Headmaster saying that the second dungeon was covered in something green and sticky, an exploded potion I think. I'm sure he wouldn't mind if you cleaned it up. Eight o-clock today, work until the room shines." With a final glare she marched back into her room. 

Ron, who would've under other circumstances been thrilled, was very upset. "Great, now my punishment includes him as well. Just great." 

--- 

A few minutes before eight, Ron put away his books and headed towards the dungeons. When he got there Draco was already there arranging some cleaning utensils. Ron blushed because he'd forgotten to get some. His footsteps clattered and Draco heard it. 

Throwing a rag, he said, "Here, I figured you didn't have anything." 

Ron waited for the crack about how he couldn't afford it, but it never came. Instead Draco just muttered something about how he wasn't going to do all the work himself. Shrugging, Ron picked up a bucket full of soapy water and the rag that had been thrown at him and headed towards the corner farthest from his enemy. 

The slime was thick and gross. It smelled too. Every now and then the boys gagged. Ron found themself wishing he had some of the Cleansing Potion he'd made earlier that day. All of a sudden, Draco turned and walked to a distance of a meter in front of Ron. 

"I didn't send Crabbe and Goyle after you." Ron was shocked, he wasn't expecting anything. They'd been working for half an hour in complete silence. Such a sudden and specific thing was unexpected. 

It took a minute for the words to sink in. Ron realized it wasn't an apology, just a statement. He decided to be sarcastic, "I'll bet you didn't." 

Draco scowled, "I'm not apologizing," he said, "just so you know. I don't do things that stupid. Okay?" 

Ron blinked, "Yes you do. You always do. You haven't changed a bit in seven years! You're still the bully you were when we were first years." 

Draco said nothing. He went to the wall he was closest to and started washing the slime. Ron did the same with his wall. About ten minutes passed, and Ron was completely frustrated. Not only with Draco being semi-nice, but with something else as well. "Damn this slime! What the hell did this come from? Why can't we use magic?" He threw his bucket at the wall, and it stuck. 

Draco smiled a bit. Ron had never seen him smile without saying some sort of snide remark. It was an odd smile. A smile that was vaguely amused, and yet also looked like it hadn't been seen for a very long time. It vanished when Draco realized Ron was looking at it. "What're you staring at, Weasley?" 

The weird moment was gone, "Nothing," Ron spat back. 

In a few minutes Ron decided to voice some of his thoughts, "So, why did Crabbe and Goyle attack me if you didn't tell them to?" 

Draco looked at him, with something that resembled a blush forming on the tip of his ears. "I just mentioned something about how stupid you and the rest of your Dream Team were. They apparently thought it was a good idea to pick a fight." 

Ron raised his eyebrows, "What exactly did we do that was so stupid?" 

A pause, "Er, I don't remember." All of sudden Draco doubled up with laughter. It was downright scary. Ron had never seen anything like this; he'd never seen such a show of emotion. Draco seemed to realize where he was and stopped just as unexpectedly he had begun. He looked terrified for an instant, and looked at Ron with an accusing glance. 

Ron, who was rather puzzled, turned back to his wall and started scrubbing. Draco followed his example. No more words were exchanged that night. 

--- 

The next evening after dinner Harry and Ron were walking back to their dormitory. "Are you coming to Quidditch practice today?" Harry asked Ron. He'd been made captain of the team, and was endlessly proud. His first act was to make Ron a backup Chaser. It had made Ron very happy until he thought about it and realized why Harry had done it. He couldn't help being happy even if he didn't exactly deserve it. 

He didn't feel like it and told Harry so. "I'm just going to laze around and ponder the meaning of life. Or try to think of a way to get Malfoy sent off somewhere very far away," he smiled. 

Harry laughed, "Tell me if you come up with anything even remotely possible." 

The two boys parted. Ron went looking for a place he could be where he wouldn't be found. He was in the Hufflepuff area of the castle when he found a thin, long, dusty hallway. It was dark except for a ray of moonlight coming through a side near the end of it. He walked to the part just in front of the window and sat in front of it. 

Ron heard a familiar drawl. "What the hell are you doing here?" 

He groaned. "I could ask the same of you, Malfoy." 

The hall way had the width of a closet, so if Draco, who was further in than Ron, had wanted to leave Ron would have to get out just to give him room. Both seemed to realize this and scowled into their laps. 

"I'm not leaving," Ron muttered. "There probably isn't another place like this in the whole castle. And I'm not leaving it for you. So you leave, climb over me or something, I am not moving." 

Draco snorted, "You don't deserve it anymore than I do. I won't leave either. Just shutup and leave me be." 

Ron growled to himself and went back to staring at the sky and his thoughts. Draco was silent so he probably did the same thing. Ron sighed, he loved Quidditch. He liked Harry too, revered him even. His thoughts raced around in circles. "Of course Harry is perfect and so good and brave everyone should look up to him. They should worship him. Worship him like I do. After all, why do I put up with being a stupid backup chaser when I know I'm no better than Neville. It's for him, everything is for him. If I didn't know better, I'd be in love with him. 

"Why does everyone revere him? All the wizards of England, the world, whatever, love him for doing something he had no control over. They don't know that he grew up to be brave, and they don't care. That's why I'm bitter. This moonlight falling around me is beautiful. Y'know, I feel sorry for You-Know-Who. He was just finishing his job, he's probably not that bad. After all, he's just trying to unite the wizards and keep our blood pure. That's not such a bad thing. Harry was the one who ruined all his plans. Muggles are okay, but they aren't like us. They should just...get a planet of their own. Sure, some of them can be nice, but it just isn't the same as a pure-blood." 

Ron's thoughts stopped as he realized what he was thinking. His next thought was that he was drunk. But he knew he hadn't had anything to drink. Inhaling deeply he decided he was drunk off the moonlight. Stupid Harry, the only reason he doesn't understand wanting to keep blood pure is because his isn't. Before he knew it, he had spoken aloud. "How does one ally with Lord Voldemort?" He was frightened at having asked the question. He was frightened of having said the name. And he was frightened to have spoken with Malfoy. 

The blond head slowly turned toward him, "Excuse me?" 

Ron shivered. "Nothing. Sorry. Um, you've got the hall to yourself, I'll do you a favor and leave." As he stood up he was trembling. He was scared to death, not of the look in Draco's eyes, but of what he himself was thinking. 

Draco's eyes were intense. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into. Stay out of it, Weasley." 

Ron huffed up. "What, you think just because -" he was cut off. 

"I said stay out of it." Draco's voice was like a knife. 

"I will not," said Ron. "So now only you can be a Death Eater? You think the rest of us aren't good enough?" His hair had fallen out of its place, he was flushed and standing looking at his foe. 

"Yes. That's the reason. You're not good enough." Draco looked calm but Ron noticed that his fists were clenched. His knuckles were white and he was trying to look a calm; trying to appear like he knew what he was doing. "Didn't you say you were leaving?" 

Ron's eye twitched. "I changed my mind." He sat down close to Draco. "I want you to tell me how to become a Death Eater." Now it was Ron's eyes that probed Draco's face. "Tell me, I know you know. Don't you guys always want new members? I'm valuable too, with a father in the ministry." 

"I don't know a more obvious way to say this, Weasley. I'm not going to help you. Sod off!" Draco's fists had not unclenched. 

"Why?" Ron asked, his eyes focused on Draco's hands. 

Draco sighed and relaxed, "I'm going to ask you that same question. Why? Why are you suddenly so interested in switching sides on this battle? Did Dumbledore ask you to be a spy? I'm sure he has enough of those." 

Ron was leaning back against a wall looking at Draco who was leaning against the other. Noticing something, Ron grabbed at Draco's left hand, which was closest to him. Looking at the palm he noticed blood marks and indents where Draco's nails had dug into his skin. Draco pulled his hand back, but in his shock he was weak. Ron also did what he had wanted to do for quite some time. He ripped back Draco's sleeve. He then saw what he had dreaded, the Black Mark. 

Draco tore his arm from Ron's grasp. His hands dripped blood onto Ron's fingers and a piece of his sleeve also fell to the floor. In his panic to get out of the hallway Draco kicked Ron's head. Ron cried out, bringing his hand to his ear; it came back with blood on it. 

Draco's eyes were filled with fear. He hesitated and stepped back towards the redheaded boy. Ron's eyes convinced him otherwise. With an inaudible whisper he ran off. 

~*~*~ 

Hmm, comments are greatly appreciated. Criticism is even more appreciated. Thanks for reading.


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